


Bubblegum Boy

by gaypasta



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, pastel!dan, punk!phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:09:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4086097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypasta/pseuds/gaypasta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil works in a chemist - a boring Tuesday morning is interrupted by a tall boy clad in too much pastel-pink who doesn’t quite understand how hair dye works.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bubblegum Boy

Phil didn’t mind working behind the counter at a Chemist. He saw goodthings; like happy couples buying pregnancy tests and students getting their passport photos taken. He saw not-so good things too, but he didn’t focus on those.

Phil tried to be sociable to his customers, he really did. But the gauges, blue hair, piercings, and tattoo sleeves were always eyed with fear; as if the ink lion on Phil’s forearm was planning on eating people alive.

  
He didn’t particularly mind the hesitating eyes or the lowering of heads, he was used to it - he just really didn’t like it when people were openly disapproving. I mean, honestly who would like someone telling them - to their face - that their life decisions were poor. Phil still smiled at the disgruntled mother of 4, besides; Phil didn’t know what was going on in her life. Maybe her husband threw out her favourite brand of lipstick and she had to buy another one, and at the price of £24.99 that the till flashed, Phil would be pretty mad too.

  
Today was a fairly slow day. Tuesdays aren’t exactly renowned for their high traffic in the medical industry – so Phil had only served a handful of people for a general flu medicine that was going around London. Maybe Londoners should be encouraged to wear face masks on the tube; Phil fondly recalls getting a mild case of Bird Flu after a business man with a frown tattooed onto his face sneezed into his hand. It was pretty gross, but he did get to stay home from work to play Pokemon for two weeks, which was great. It was like re-living the time he got sick when he was 10 and lay on the living room sofa with a blanket draped over him as he played Pokemon Blue on the Gameboy.  
  
He still has his Gameboy somewhere, he made sure to pack it when he moved into his own flat in University and he definitely packed it when he moved to London. He used to work with the BBC, but the recession hit and they laid him off. Thankfully, the Chemist payed him just enough to get by. Nonetheless, he was still looking for work in the Computer Design industry.  
  
Phil’s eyes shot to the door when he heard the familiar ‘ring’ the bell made whenever somebody entered, which was more than annoying during the Saturday rush. Phil forced himself not to drag his eyes up and down the stranger’s pastel-pink clothed body but Jesus Christ, he was absolutely gorgeous. The boy gave a non-committal nod and darted to the Hair Care section. Phil could barely keep the smile from growing onto his face.  
  
Phil never thought anyone over six foot could pull off light pink pastel jeans, but he was proved very wrong by the boy with chestnut hair and  chocolate eyes. He wore a stupid knitted pink jumper and pink skinny jeans. Phil pondered about the boy. Did he fit into the pastel sub-culture, or did he just so happen to accidentally cosplay Nicki Minaj. Phil supposed that if he did group himself into the punk culture, they wouldn’t be so different. Aside from the obvious that the brunette appeared much more effeminate than Phil, but that was simply an assumption.  
  
Phil waited behind the counter for the boy to bring whatever hair-related product he was searching for, but after 5 minutes of waiting, Phil had began to wonder if the boy genuinely needed assistance. Phil made his way over to the hair-care aisle and paused at the end of the row, his gaze swiftly moving to the brunette’s duck-egg blue boxers. Avert your eyes, you’re invading his privacy, don’t be creepy! Phil coughed into his hand and the boy jumped in surprise slightly, dropping a box of hair dye.  
“Uh, would you like some assistance, Sir?”  
  
The boy looked like a little deer caught in the headlights, there was a moment of awkward silence before he nodded.  
“Yeah, uh- I’m looking for hair dye and bleach.”  
  
Phil raised and eyebrow and tilted his head, he’d probably never dyed his hair before in his life - by the sounds of it.  
  
“Ah, you’ve asked the right person then! What colour are you going for?”  
  
“Lavender. I haven’t been able to find any and the purple is too dark - should I just use less of the purple dye for it to be lighter?”  
  
Phil smiled at the image of the boy with lavender hair, he would really suit it - his eyes would stand out a lot, and they were already very captivating.  
  
“I don’t think we have it - let me go check stock.” Phil beckoned the boy to follow him to the computer behind the till - the boy was fumbling with his hands. He must be pretty nervous. Phil didn’t blame him, the first time he dyed his hair there was a giant patch of ginger at the side of  head. Thankfully after his first attempt at dying when he was 19, he now had 5 years of experience down his sleeve - not counting the week he spent in a hairdresser’s sweeping up hair for work experience.  
  
The brunette boy slouched slightly against the counter and examined the display of general throat-sweets and lollipops for children as Phil typed on the ancient computer system. Phil eyed down the list of stock for hair dye and hair dye related product with little success. He could get his hair bleached separate from the dye - but that would depend on the quality of the other’s hair. He could order dye with bleaching properties. It would be best to ask, so he didn’t have to order both.  
  
“Do you dye your hair often? I’m just asking, for the order, you know.” Phil wasn’t the best at talking to cute boys, he always felt calm, but his mouth tripped itself up. It was a curse, or maybe it was the result of him accidentally sneezing and head-butting the bathroom mirror. He had to get stitches after that.  
  
The boy looked up from the stand to respond to Phil’s question. “Uh, no- this is my first time actually. Is it that obvious?” He chuckled.  
  
Phil smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I was worse - I dyed my hair black by myself in the University bathroom a week before my Mum’s birthday. I left a huge patch of ginger on - here,” Phil tossled his hair and pointed to a patch of hair near the back of his head, “And no one told me! Mum nearly grounded me when she saw.”  
  
The brunette laughed, Phil saw some of the tension ease from his shoulders. “Thanks for the anecdote, I’ll be sure to get my friend Zoe to help me then.”  
  
“It’s good to be out of school isn’t it? University gives you more freedom. I got these two weeks into my first year.” Phil tugged on his earlobe and the boy opposite him admired his gauges for a moment. “Mum also nearly grounded me when she saw.”  
  
This made the boy opposite him laugh and pull his sleeve over his hand and cover his mouth. It was pretty cute, Phil had the same habit of covering his mouth when he laughed. “Yeah - this is my second year of Uni. I’m still stuck in student lodging, no one had any spare rooms for me to stay in.”  
  
Phil nodded, “Fingers crossed for next year?”  
  
“Fingers crossed.”  
  
Okay, so the boy was four years younger than him, but that was fine, wasn’t it? It’s not like they’re in school anymore where that would just be downright weird.  
  
Phil stared at the boy softly for a few seconds before shaking himself out of the trance the boy appeared to have put him under. He grabbed a pen from beside the computer.  
  
“We don’t have any - but I’ll order some and it should be here the day after tomorrow. I’ll call you when it comes, can I have your name and number please?”  
  
The boy smiled and stood up straighter. “Yeah, Dan Howell and my number is-” Dan handed Phil over his phone and Phil copied down the numbers on the screen onto a scrap of paper.  
  
Dan nodded and waved as he turned to leave - he stopped as his eyes met the cough sweet stand. “I’ll have one of those, please.”  
  
Phil checked the sweets through and gave Dan his change, his hand brushed against Dan’s own tanned one.  
  
“Thanks, I’ll see you later Phil.” Dan smirked as he walked away.  
  
How did he know his name? Did Phil meet him before and forget? Oh no, what if he did go to school with him; that would be the most awkward thing in the entire world. He can’t crush on someone who -  _oh_. Name tag.  
Phil laughed at himself and tapped in the order for the lavender hair dye.  
  
He spent the next 15 minutes deciding what emoji to put beside Dan’s contact name.  
  
 ~~(He chose the octopus)~~

* * *

  
Phil nearly choked on his coffee when he heard someone cough in front of him. Please don’t be his boss, oh god,  _please_  don’t be his boss.  
  
Phil sighed with relief when he saw the boy from Saturday in front of him - he was biting back a laugh. Phil wasn’t technically allowed to be drinking coffee at work, but it was almost 9am on a Monday. His excuse was that there was a Harry Potter movie marathon on last night until 5am, so honestly this should be an exception.  
  
“Sorry I s-scared you. You texted me earlier?” Dan smirked, almost losing his composure when Phil nearly dropped his coffee by misjudging how close the shelf under the counter was.  
  
“I texted you fifteen minutes ago.” Did that constitute as earlier? That was practically still in the present.  
  
Dan shrugged, “I was on my way to work, 'Game’ is only a few stores down, so I stopped in here first.”  
Phil eyed Dan’s black polo shirt with an obnoxiously bright red name tag. Dan appeared to be wearing white jeans - pink would have clashed with the red, of course. Phil normally just ordered his games from Amazon, maybe now he’d reconsider.  
  
“Oh, of course, that makes sense. You work there part-time?” Phil inquired. Where did he put the hair dye? He set it aside for Dan earlier. Nice one, Phil. Lose the one thing you were required not to lose. He knelt down to hunt under the counter - carefully avoiding spilling hot coffee on himself (again).  
  
“Uh, yeah three-three days a week- what are you doing?” Dan leant over the counter to watch Phil search for the small carton of hair dye.  
  
Phil looked up, the early blush of morning streaming through the glass front doors caused Dan to appear almost angelic; fringed in a halo of light. Phil almost knocked over his coffee when he tried to stand up.  
  
Dan moved back and looked at Phil in amusement, hands tapping rhythmically on the counter, he was probably tapping out a tune from the charts. Phil could vaguely recognize it. He bit his lip and ran his hand through his coarse blue hair, and fiddled with his lip ring using his tongue - a habit he quickly developed after getting it pierced a couple of years ago.  
  
Phil was just about to turn to the back room to check, before the familiar ringing broke the soft impassive lull of the room. A familiar woman walked in with her familiar floral patterned skirt and offensively colourful blouse.  
  
“Good morning, Philip!” A cheery voice chirped as she stalked towards him, Dan gently moved aside to insist she cut the queue. Not that it really could be considered a queue. Phil smiled in response to her, he enjoyed Mrs. Mallon’s weekly visits. She had the same weekly prescription of a combination of her husband’s Atorvastain for lowering Cholestrol, prescription Ibuprofen for her own gammy knee and Lisinopril for her daughter’s bad heart.  She came in every week - if not for medicine - she always came weekly for general products like make-up, plasters and moisturiser. She came in like clockwork every Monday morning since Phil began his work.  
  
“Good morning, Mrs Mallon! Any prescriptions today?”  
  
She pulled a note out of her purse and handed it over, “Little Brianna has got the flu, so I believe some lollipops are in order, Philip.”  
  
Phil laughed, and gave Dan an apologetic look, and it was returned with a shake of the head and a smile. “Of course, an energy drink would be good too, especially if she’s being sick.”  
  
She leant over and pinched Phil’s cheek, “You always know exactlywhat to do, sweetums!”  
  
Phil laughed and shuffled away to the backroom, a blush forming on his face as he caught Dan laughing silently into his hands. He loved Mrs Mallon, but she certainly had a knack for being overly-motherly.  
  
Phil quickly picked out the Relenza Oral tablets, they were running out of stock - Phil needed to put in another order - he also stalked around the room to hunt for Dan’s hair-dye. He could have sworn that he put it underneath the till counter. Maybe Dan’s a time traveller who went back in time to hide the hair dye because it came out awful.  
  
After looking in all the obvious places - he walked back out to see Mrs Mallon in an enthusiastic conversation with an unwilling, probably trapped, Dan.  
  
Phil chuckled slightly and walked back to the counter and handed the woman over her medicine, after having to call her several times to pry her attention away from the other boy.  
“Thank you, Philip - beep through these Lempsips and lollies too and - oh! Daniel, would you be a sweetheart and fetch me a bottle of water and a bottle of Lucozade?”  
Dan smiled at the woman - honestly it was hard not to - and completed her request, alongside grabbing himself a water as well. Phil scanned through all the products, except the water which had refused to go through.  
He beeped in the numbers individually, trying to vaguely listen to what the woman was saying.  
“So, have you decided on your new tattoo yet?”  
  
Phil shook his head and tapped in the final numbers. “No, ma'am, but I was thinking of one on my neck? Maybe a dragon or a lion, I don’t know”  
  
She nodded and slipped the products into her bag. “Of course, you’ll suit whatever you get, Philip! I’ll see you next week.”  
  
He smiled and waved to her as she left. “Bye, Mrs Mallon.”  
  
The two waited in silence for a few moments before they both let out chuckles at the overly-friendly woman.  
  
“Phil, I’m late for work so I’ll stop by at about noon on my lunch break, okay?” Dan pulled out his iPhone from his jeans and checked the time. The cover of his phone was a Rilakkuma bear which was adorable. Phil had looked for that phone case in the past, but gave up his search when he found a hallographic galaxy print one for £4.99.  
  
“Yeah, that’s fine - I’ll see you!” Phil waved happily as Dan smirked and walked out the door- leaving Phil alone. Phil took a swig from his now barely lukewarm coffee.  
  
Dan didn’t pay for that bottle of water, Phil  _really_  hopes his boss doesn’t come in.  
  


* * *

Dan walked in with a much less energetic look on his face, and a downward curve on his mouth. Phil couldn’t help his paternal instincts and feel the need to comfort him.

  
“I found the hair-dye. It’ll be £15.87 for that, plus the water you stole this morning.” Phil winked, hoping to get a smile from the glum boy as he handed him the box.  
  
Phil managed to elicit a small smile from Dan, as the boy took the box and dug out a £20 note. “Sorry about that, I’ve had a lot of stuff on my mind today. I feel like my brain’s going to explode.”  
  
Phil nodded understandingly. He bit his lip and walked around the counter to be on the same side as Dan, then hopped onto it. Dan gave him a look of confusion and leaned against the counter to take some weight off his feet.  
  
“So, you’re getting another tattoo?” Dan asked, trying to engage in conversation.  
  
“Yeah! I was thinking something cool, like a dragon or a lion - maybe on my neck or chest.” Phil replied, tracing his neck with his fingers.  
  
Dan hummed, “I think a dragon if you’re going for neck, a lion would be too thick-bodied for that. Whereas a dragon is quite lean and agile, so it can wisp around your neck.”  
  
Phil nodded and smiled, “Yeah! I never thought about that - that’s a really good point. Do you have any tattoos?”  
  
Dan laughed and shook his head, “Oh, no, I’m far too scared of needles. I fainted getting my blood taken when I was 17. I wouldn’t suit tattoos - you look intimidating. I’d just look like a toddler who got a hold of a sharpie.”  
  
Phil laughed into his hands. “I’m not intimidating! Children love me; when I babysit my niece she puts a pencil in my ears and calls me art-head.”  
  
“Art-head? Really?”  
  
“She’s six!”  
  
Phil watched as Dan read the dye instructions, his plucked brows furrowing in concentration and confusion at some parts.  The metallic shine of the box reflected onto Dan’s face - his cheeks looked like they were glowing.  
  
“You’re really pretty.”  
  
Dan gave no indication of the fact he heard Phil, except Phil noticed his eyes stopped moving and he stared into the box.  
  
“Is-is that a compliment or are you taking the piss?” Dan’s voice was low and forcibly bitter. Phil wasn’t expecting the sudden change in tone, and as wrong as it felt, Dan’s husky voice was pretty hot.  
  
“That was a compliment. Are you- are you alright?” Phil asked with genuine concern. Phil patted Dan’s shoulder gently as a gesture of kindness.  
  
Dan sighed softly and bit his lip. “Yeah- yeah, I just encountered a few dickheads back in my school days.”  
  
Phil nodded, “Oh, yeah I understand. There was this guy called Adam Older and he was the rudest person! He made fun of my head. My head! Not even my face, just the shape of my head. It was ridiculous, really.”  
  
Dan chuckled at that - which was great. Phil liked making the boy laugh, and watching his shoulders shake and his chest bounce. Phil really liked this boy. The way he stood, the way he laughed, the way he moved, and filled up space attracted Phil in a way he couldn’t explain. Phil could already tell that they had a lot in common.  
  
“Sorry for being snarky, I have to always be prepared for twats.”  
  
Phil nudged his leg with his foot, “You scared me, I thought you were gonna bite my head off.”  
  
Dan laughed and rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah, the bubblegum boy is going to kill the guy who looks like he stepped straight out of a death metal concert.”  
  
“Bubblegum boy! I like that, I’m going to call you that.”  
  
Dan groaned into his hands, “Please don’t, oh my god.”  
  
Phil shrugged and jumped off the counter as a customer walked through the door, “And besides, I prefer instrumental music.”  
  
Dan shook his head and turned to leave. Phil tried to keep his eyes to the customer in front of him rather than the glimpse of underwear that Dan’s sagging jeans were displaying.

* * *

##  **(+2months)**

 

Dan had came into the Chemist’s thrice a week, every week, on his lunch break for 2 months. Phil was pleased with the company, especially considering the company was a cute boy and Phil was forced to work on his birthday. Not that he had any real plans, but staying at home and watching Buffy all day sounds much more enjoyable than giving old men Viagra.

He waited patiently for Dan to come in to buy a sandwich and a drink then sit with him for half an hour like they do every Monday. Honestly, Dan was the only reason he hadn’t quit his job and pull up stakes and move back up North. He’d gotten no job offers in London yet - and he was beginning to get annoyed at the lack of spare change he had.

He saw Dan’s pale-yellow jeans approach the glass door and he took Dan’s usual order from under the counter. A few weeks ago he had decided to ring the food through before Dan arrived; it made it easier and a lot less formal.

Dan entered the store, and Phil furrowed his brow in confusion at the small bag Dan was holding. He better not have stopped to get food before coming here.

 

“Sorry I’m late, Phil. I had to stay in work and sort something out with the new import.” Dan apologised and set the bag on the counter - he quickly paid for his food and hopped onto the counter, facing Phil.

Phil smiled at the younger boy as he ran his hand through his soft lavender hair. Dan suited it so much, he looked like candyfloss and Phil just wanted to lay Dan on his lap and play with his hair all day. It really didn’t help that Dan smelt of strawberries thanks to his affection for sweet, expensive body wash and shampoo.

“Don’t worry about it. What’s in the bag? Or is it private - is it a head?” Phil smirked.

Dan guffawed at Phil, “No! It’s your present, dickhead.”

Phil looked up at Dan in shock, Dan did not just get him a present for his birthday. That is too lovely and sweet and Dan is far too cute and Phil is far too gay for this bubblegum boy. He was excited though, he was very, very excited. Call him selfish, but Phil really loved getting presents. He loved giving presents more than receiving, but he just  _really_  loved gifts.  
  
“Can I-”  
  
“No. I bought it for decorational purposes. You must absolutely not open the present I bought and wrapped for you.”  
  
“Is that a yes?”  
  
“Nah.”  
  
Phil smirked and pulled the thin present from the bag, it was wrapped gorgeously in sky-blue foil-paper which shimmered under the light. Phil was tempted not to open it.  
  
He carefully pulled the corners up- trying to rip the paper as little as possible. He managed to open up the top and he pulled the mysterious object out.  
  
He felt tears prick his eyes with joy and disbelief as he glazed over the packaging.  
  
“You got me Super Smash Bros?”  
  
Dan raised his eyebrows and laughed, “Yes! Why are you crying?”  
  
Phil hid his face behind the game and bounced up and down in excitement, “I was saving up for this for weeks, I wanted it so badly!”  
  
“Yeah- that’s why I got it.”  
  
Phil set the game under the counter and made a mental note to definitely not forget this present. He managed to control his teary eyes, he was just really excited.  
  
“Thank you, it means a lot - I’ll actually have something to do tonight.” Phil laughed, “Normally on my birthday I sit at home eating Chinese and watching re-runs of tv-shows.”  
  
Dan leaned closer to Phil, “You could always do me.” Dan’s voice was husky and he gave Phil an exaggerated wink and a side-smirk.  
  
Phil stopped playing with the buttons on his shirt and stared at Dan. He felt his heart skip a beat and although he knew Dan was messing about, he felt his pulse race and his face heat up. Dan had been like this after the initial shyness wore off - flirty banter and inappropriate touching just to see who would crack first. Phil normally lost, he couldn’t deal with the pastel boy’s antics, they were too much.  
  
Phil calmed his heart enough to be able to function his vocal cords. “Maybe I will, my pastel Prince.” He thread his fingers through the belt loop of Dan’s jeans and yanked him closer to him - enough so he could whisper in his ear. “You should come home with me after work.” He barely managed to conceal a laugh when he felt Dan shiver beneath him.  
  
Dan pulled himself away and gave Phil’s tattooed arm a light punch, “Shut up, you prick.” Dan and Phil laughed as Dan took a drink of his water.  
  
Phil folded the wrapping paper up and bent down to slide it under the game, “In all seriousness - would you like to come over? We can get Chinese or pizza and play video games? If you’re not busy, of course.”  
  
Dan turned his head to Phil and nodded; the only form of communication that was available when he was drinking. Dan drank so much water - he cleared an entire 2Litre bottle in one lunch break once, no wonder his skin was so clear.  
  
“Yeah, yeah that sounds great. Text me your address and I’ll be there at six.”  
  
Phil smiled at the slightly blushing boy and couldn’t help but snicker at his sudden awkwardness. He was fumbling with his hands and trying to find a comfortable way to sit.  
  
Dan was so cute and clumsy - Phil felt his heart swell. Were they friends? No, it felt like more than that. They weren’t courting, or dating, or friends with benefits. I guess they didn’t need a label. I guess they could just be Dan and Phil. Phil thinks that sounds okay.


End file.
